Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is one of those lovely desserts that always makes me feel like a queen. Something about the rich, dense layers and the uber-creamy icing are almost always swoon-worthy, causing even the most recalcitrant sugar-opponent to buckle under a cloud of cinnamon and cream cheese. This particular recipe, even though it's gluten-free, is a superlative carrot cake experience. The lofty, tender crumb does nothing to tattle on its wheat-free status—If you didn't tell your guests, they might never know.

This recipe was adapted from a fabulous book called Gluten Free Baking Classics. If you at all love to bake with gluten-free ingredients, I highly recommend it.

About the author:Stephanie Stiavetti is a writer and cookbook author in San Francisco. Stephanie's cookbook, Melt: the Art of Macaroni and Cheese, celebrates America's favorite dish by recreating it with small production, specialty cheeses. Her food blog, The Culinary Life, is a repository for all things comfort food related, from savory dinners to transcendental desserts.

Add sugar, oil, and eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or add to a large bowl and use a handheld electric mixer. Beat until smooth, about one minute. Add vanilla and beat for another minute. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat at medium-low speed for 1 minute. Fold in carrots, walnuts, and coconut with a spatula.

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Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer pans to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Use a small knife to cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Invert cake layers onto rack, peel off paper and allow to cool completely.

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For cream cheese frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese in stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed until well blended. Beat in vanilla, lemon zest and juice until smooth.

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Place one cooled cake on a platter. Spread a thick layer of frosting onto the top of the cake, covering the entire surface evenly, then set the other cake on top. Use an offset spatula to spread more icing around the top and sides of the cake. If you like, pipe small rosettes of icing around the cake's edges for a decorative touch. (See here for a photo slideshow on how to frost a cake.)

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About the Author

After leaving the tech world nearly a decade ago, Stephanie made a career jump to her lifetime love, writing. She currently writes for the Huffington Post, KQED's Bay Area Bites, NPR, and other select media outlets. Her first cookbook, Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese, is due out in fall 2013 on Little, Brown with coauthor Garrett McCord.

Being a recovering techy leaves an indelible mark, and everything Stephanie does is infused with her deep fascination with digital technology. She has been blogging since 1999, before blog engines even existed and a great readership consisted of a handful of friends who occasionally thought to check out your site. In 2005 she started her first food blog, which she repurposed in 2007 to become The Culinary Life.

Stephanie can be called many things: food writer, essayist, professional recipe developer, cookbook author, social media consultant, videographer, documentary maker, website developer, archivist of life. Despite all of these titles, she most commonly responds to Steph.

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